Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, a Long-Ago Memory

Thomas and I often remark on how odd it is that people who talk with British accents sound American when singing. He showed me a clip of Elton John talking and then singing and I told him about an old association I have with one of his songs. I thought I would memorialize the memory. So, welcome to this weird post.

When I was about 6 years old, my family moved from Utah to Massachusetts. We were from MA, but had lived in Utah for two wonderful years. My parents were teachers and taught at the school on a military base. The base did weapons testing and was very small and very isolated. That is where I went to Kindergarten. When we moved, it was to the very large (to me) town of Taunton. We lived in an apartment there for several months. Due to overcrowding, my brother Kevin, who is only 18 months older than me, and I were sent to two different schools. We got there in the middle of the school year and I felt lonely and scared, going to a giant school all by myself. I hated it.

There is a song that brings back the vivid emotions I experienced while living in Taunton. It is "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John. That song was released in 1973; I was in first grade in 1983, so I am not sure why it was playing on the radio, but I can remember hearing that song playing in our kitchen as I was getting ready to go to school and feeling a giant pit in my stomach. Today, whenever I hear that song, I still feel slightly sick. There is another song called, "The Song Remembers When" that captures the sentiment of how a song can take you back to a very specific memory and for me, it is Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. There are other songs associated with better memories, like "Before He Cheats" being played when Luke was born, which makes me laugh because it is the opposite of sweet and sentimental and what you would want to associate with giving birth. But, the most vivid, even after almost 40 years, is "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road." I don't hear it very often, but when I do, I am transported back to the feelings of helplessness I experienced as a sad six year old, standing in her kitchen and feeling completely despondent at the thought of going to school.

I don't think we lived in Taunton very long, but my memories of that time are sad. There was a day when I was sitting by myself in the giant lunch room and I just started crying. A teacher came and asked if I was sick and I nodded. She brought me to the nurse, who called my dad. My dad immediately came and picked me up. He could tell right away that I was not sick, but he was sympathetic and took me home for the day, stopping for ice cream on the way. As an adult, I am sure now that the feelings came from moving from a very small, very secure environment to a large town full of uncertainties. I also remember my parents fighting a lot during that time (my mom didn't want to move) and I am sure that contributed. No one was mean to me, I just felt alone. Poor little Kori.

We eventually moved to a house near my grandmother in Dartmouth, MA. I went to a normal-sized school that my brother also attended. We lived next to a giant forest where Kevin and I would spend many unsupervised hours getting lost, wandering streams and climbing trees (the 80s truly were a great time to be a child). 

Father's Day Weekend and More Summer

Father's Day weekend was great! Thomas and I had a 4-day weekend and we made good use of the time off. Thursday after work we went to Universal. We attempted to do all the water rides, but learned that Bluto's Barges closed an hour before the rest of the park. So, we only did 2/3 water rides (and, lots of others). 

Friday, we took the girls to Epcot. We rode all our old favorites--Soarin', Test Track, Living with the Land, and Spaceship Earth. We had an amazing lunch at Connections, which is new since our last visit and were happy to see that the coke tasting area was back. Beverly is still completely awful. And, we got to ride Guardians of the Galaxy! After our first ride, I thought it would be one of my favorites, but I felt like we needed another ride to be sure. Fortunately, it was as amazing as I remembered. We all rank it among our favorite rides. 

You can't see it, but there were some cute topiary's behind them. I thought I got them in the picture, but nope.

Thomas got a cool shirt that features the Epcot ships, including the Guardians of the Galaxy one in this picture.

We attempted to take the SkyLiner to Hollywood Studios, but it started lightening just as we got there. They shut down both the Skyliner and the boats. So, we walked back to our car and drove. It was really crowded. I don't like the new Genie+ system. I feel like we are spoiled at Universal, where our passes let us use the express lane after 4 once per ride. Anyway, the lines were super long and we only did a couple of things.  The number of lightening lane guests they let in versus regular line is crazy and frustrating (I counted on the Tower of Terror and it was literally about 10:1). We had a meh dinner and then rode the Skyliner to Epcot and back, just for fun. We got home around 9pm. It was a long, fun day.

Saturday, we went to the library. Then, we had the boys' basketball games. Luke's started late, so I missed Jack's, but Thomas said it was one of his best games. Luke also played really well. 

Sunday, Thomas, the girls and I went shopping. I got some clothes and new shoes. Kara got some things as well, but Anna walked away empty-handed. Thomas got the sneakers he's been wanting; he said it is like running on a marshmallow. Speaking of which, Thomas is still running almost every day. He does shorter runs so he can run more often. He also does weight workouts every other day. That coupled with his no added sugar diet (which he has done now for a year and half) has put him in amazing shape. I really should be following his example. 

That night, we went back to Universal. This time everyone went. Thomas was in charge, so we ate at his favorite restaurant (Terrace Falls, although some of the kids got food at another restaurant and brought it to Terrace Falls) and rode his favorite rides. We attempted water rides again and rode Bluto first, but then Dudley broke down and it was getting late, so we missed Jurassic Park River Adventure because we wanted to make sure we got in line for Hagrid's before it closed. One of these days we will get all 3 water rides! At Hagrid's the wait was posted at 95, but the line didn't seem that long. But, then the ride broke down and we did end up waiting the 95 minutes. We were all super tired. But, it was fun to walk out through the empty park.

Auntie Anne's pretzel break. Just a man and his 4 kids on Father's Day.

Monday, Luke had his first day of baseball camp. Thomas, Kara and I dropped him off then went to Target. Anna was in an online career camp, which runs from the 17th-27th. I bought Luke a bike that afternoon and we went to Culver's for dinner. Then, I took the girls to Walmart. Now that she is in high school, Kara is allowed to wear makeup so she wanted to stock up.

Luke and his friend Adrian. It was super cute, they coordinated their uniforms the rest of the week (they played together on the Leones and two Little League teams, so they had a few to choose from).

And that, was our amazing four-day weekend! It was super hard to return to work on Tuesday. But, the week went okay. Thomas went to the walk-in orthopedic clinic on Wednesday. His arm has been hurting for months. He was diagnosed with bone spurs in the elbow (nothing they can do for that) and inflammation in the forearm. They said it was good he came in because his tendon could have ruptured. They gave him a cortisone shot and told him to ice it every hour for 48 hours! So, he took the next couple of days off to give it some good attention.

And, a bonus picture of Luke living his best life. He was eating M&Ms and reading a book while he relaxed on the couch. I was kind of jealous :)

2018 Flashback: Cooperstown

I was looking at my 2018 blog to reread about my favorite vacation--our trip to New England and imagine my surprise when there was nothing written about the last few days. I don't know if it somehow got erased, or Kara's appendicitis happened and I forgot to finish the trip. But, I have to memorialize it somehow. Obviously, this post is written almost 5 years later, so my memory is not fresh, but using what I do recall along with pictures will have to suffice.

Okay, so we left our Massachusetts rental house and drove to Six Flags New England. We had a really fun visit, but the lines were kind of long and we weren't able to do everything we wanted to, particularly the Superman rollercoaster. We promised we would return (spoiler alert--we haven't) and do it one day. Unfortunately, I do not have many pictures of the day. But, I do know we had a lot of fun and enjoyed the park.

I took three pictures that day. Apparently, this ice cream cone was worthy of one. It must have been amazing!

And, two of this amazing carousel. One of the oldest in the country.

I have no idea where we stayed that night, but the next day (Sept 1) we went to Thomas' most anticipated stop--Cooperstown! It was the perfect year for us to visit because Alan Trammell, Thomas' favorite player of all time, was inducted right before our trip. And, of the 6 players inducted that year, two were Tigers. We enjoyed looking around the museum and being in Cooperstown. I know everyone got a souvenir in the gift shop and we had lunch at a Cooperstown restaurant. I also remember the town was much smaller and quainter than I expected. And, I know Thomas loved it!

Lots of cool Tigers memorabilia.

The newest member of the elite HOF.

Thomas with Trammell's plaque

From there we went to a really cool barn store with lots of amazing foods. A Google Search has provided the name--Apple Creek Cider Mill. It was huge, a destination in and of itself, and everyone (I think?) got a treat. I can't imagine we stopped a cider mill and did not get cider?

Then, we drove home. The drive was only 6.5 hours, so we probably drove straight through? In fact, I am almost positive that is what we did. I do remember it was a much easier drive home then there (no NYC to traverse).

Okay, this blog is pretty weak. Sorry! But, slightly better than nothing. Maybe. It was an amazing trip.

 To recap my favorite vacation ever:

Day 1: Six Flags Great Adventure
Day 2: Boston Freedom Trail
Day 3: Aunt Pat and New Hampshire
Day 4: Battleship Cove
Day 5: Edaville Railroad
Day 6: Horseneck Beach, Mom's Grave, Handy Hill Ice Cream, Fenway Park
Day 7: Newport Mansions
Day 8: Six Flags New England
Day 9: Cooperstown & Cider Mill

See August 2018 blog for more details ;)

Last Day of School and Start of Summer

School got out on a Friday afternoon and we left for vacation at 5am Saturday morning. So, I never wrote about the last week of school. For Jack and Anna, it was very uneventful. In fact, on Wednesday, we told them they didn't even have to go anymore. Wednesday was graduation and the school basically told kids to stay home--one of their robocalls reported that many teachers would be at graduation and there weren't enough subs so students should bring a book and be prepared to sit in the cafeteria. Another day, a teacher in the hallway was asking all the students why they were there. Jack still went 4/5 days that week, and I think Anna did 3/5. Jack said it was pretty fun to just go and watch movies and hang out with his friends. They both finished the year strong. Jack had straight As the entire year and Anna had 6 As and 1 B. We were very impressed!

For Kara, it was the end of middle school, so her week was more eventful. They had some fun events and it was sad for her to say goodbye to her friends and teachers. Her history teacher is her favorite teacher of all time and Kara did not want to leave her. On Wednesday, they had an awards ceremony and Kara was recognized for getting straight As all year. On the last day, they had 8th Grade Day, where they have bounce houses, game rooms, movie rooms, food, etc. 

The change from the first to last day of middle school. Crazy!

Luke enjoyed special events all week (show and tell, electronics day, pajama day, etc.). And, he also had straight As all year. 

Our first week of vacation (post trip) has been good. Luke didn't have any camps this week, but he did a good job entertaining himself while Thomas and I worked. Kara was the busiest, she saw the Little Mermaid with friends, went to Disney with friends, went to a birthday party with different friends, and went to Universal (half with us, half with friends). She is definitely the most social of all of us! Jack started an online guitar class. Anna had ice-skating and is prepping for her first competition next month. Both Jack and Luke are playing basketball at the Y. Luke is also practicing baseball with Thomas. He doesn't have team practices over the summer, but he wants to get stronger and better.

On Friday, Thomas and I checked out of work early and we took everyone, except Jack, to Fun Spot. We had one ticket that was expiring that day. We spent a few hours there and then went to Universal. It had been a while since our last visit and we had a great time.

Taken at the Tribute Store photo op. 

Final pictures. Luke was inspired by our trip to Yorktown and recreated the battle field. He has Redoubts 9 & 10 and used different color bears for the Continental Army, French, Virginia Militia, and the British. He also built the Moore House out of Lincoln Logs. 

Last Day of Vacation

Saturday, we started at Yorktown. We perused the visitor's center, including the introductory movie, and then did a driving battlefield tour. It had 6 stops, including a couple we had not been to--the Moore House, where the terms of surrender were decided and Surrender Field. We got out at each of the stops and walked around. It was a beautiful day and it was great to be back at Yorktown. 

We're back!

Redoubt  10, Alexander Hamilton led the attack on this one.

And, Redoubt 9, where Lafayette led. 

Some of Thomas' nature photos.

The Moore House

Jack at Surrender Field

Two very different quotes from the Yorktown Generals.

Our original plan was to visit the Yorktown Victory Center, but the kids decided they would rather go to Jamestown Settlement. So, after about 2.5 hours at Yorktown, we headed to Jamestown, stepping back in time. We had lunch at their café and then spent time in the museum and outdoor areas. A few photos from our visit there:

I didn't take any pictures of the ships, which I think is one of the best parts. Anyway, we left Jamestown around 3:30 and got food for dinner and for the the car ride home. We hung out in the rental, did some laundry and started packing. 

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

We had an amazing day at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. We had visited before, but it had been a looong time. Looking back at this blog, I think it was in 2013 for Christmas Town, so almost 10 years! We bought the all-day dining plan and ate way, way, way too much. The lines were short and we were able to do everything we wanted with little wait. We even tried out their newest attraction, Darkoaster, which opened only a week or so ago. It was fun, but it was not our favorite. The last time we went, Jack was only 6 and he went on Verbolten, a roller coaster, with Jack. When he got off, he told Thomas he liked it, but thought he would wait until he was 16 to ride again. Therefore, it was important to us that he give it another try. That was the first ride we did and I thought it was really fun. Jack still wasn't super impressed.

One big hit of the day was Pantheon, a roller coaster that opened just last year. I thought it was pretty similar to Velocicoaster, but for me a little less intense and therefore a little more fun. Thomas was in the car before me and sent me a text saying it was one of the scariest rides he had ever been on. We rode it a second time, and once we knew what to expect, I don't think people thought it was as scary (still super fun). It is probably in my top 5 roller coasters of all time (1-Hagrids; 2-Cheetah Hunt; 3-Pantheon; 4-Nitro; 5-Mako). 

Kara and I saw the Irish Step Dancing show, Celtic Fyre, which we liked. But, we didn't see any other shows. We got there at 10 and stayed until 8. We took the day at a relaxed pace, with lots of food breaks (the food was really good). I can see why the park gets voted Most Beautiful, it really was a beautiful park. We liked the different countries and how they had different music in each. All in all, it was a pretty perfect day. For favorites: Kori, Thomas and Kara--Pantheon; Luke--Tempesto (Tigris Clone); Jack--Apollo's Chariot; Anna--Verbolten.

Thomas took this one, I thought it was great.

Hanging out in "France"

My favorite photo of the day.

View from the train.

Mount Vernon and a Sad Closure

We got up early on Thursday morning, packed everything up, and loaded the van. Our first stop was Mount Vernon. We arrived 15 minutes before opening and were slightly dismayed to see a few dozen buses, all full of 8th graders, already there. When we made it inside, I asked one of the workers for suggestions on avoiding the crowds and she told us that it was going to be one of their busiest days of the year, with over 5000 students visiting! Fortunately, we were mostly able to zig while they zagged and it ended up being fine.

The Wills joined us and we started in the education center. We saw some of the films and enjoyed the exhibits, including Be Washington. We got lunch right at 11, which avoided the large crowds. Then we headed outside, starting with the mansion. When we first went to Mount Vernon (maybe 2014?) the tour was much longer. But, it still hits the high points, and we enjoyed being back. 

Birthday kids (in 4 months...)

Four of the guest rooms My favorite is the blue room.

After that, the kids played on the ha ha wall for while. My kids have been running off that wall for many years and were happy to introduce it to Ben and Kolten. Then, we toured the pioneer farm. By now it was around 1 and people were getting tired. We hiked up the mountain trail and decided we were done. Thomas ran to see the tomb and the rest of us headed to the museum. We spent a little time in the museum, then went to the gift shop and were in the van around 2. 

Ha Ha!

Wood trail bridge (stole from Kayce)

The kids, also stolen from Kayce.

That concludes the DC part of our vacation. For people's favorites:

Thomas and Luke: Mount Vernon
Anna and Kara: Art Museum

Jack: Capitol Building

Kori: Washington Monument

It was a little bittersweet being back, especially at Mount Vernon. When we lived in Maryland, we went there several times a year and our visits were always leisurely. We never felt the need to try and see everything because we knew we would be back soon. It was the same with the museums, we never tried to see an entire museum in one day, we would pick a few exhibits and then call it good, knowing we could return any time we wanted. Now, we are tourists and have no idea when we will return. It made Thomas and me sad. We could move back to Maryland, there are always openings in our old offices, but none of the kids want to and it feels cruel to make them move during high school. I miss all of our day trips and mini-vacations to Williamsburg, Philadelphia and Lancaster (with older kids, that one would probably be replaced with New York or Hershey). I miss going to the museums or Mount Vernon and feeling inspired to take a trip to Yorktown or Gettysburg and then making it happen a few weeks later. Florida has lots of fun theme parks, but it is not easy to take day or weekend trips to historical sites. Oh well, I made my bed and now I have to lie in it. To be clear, I don't dislike Florida, I just miss Maryland.

But, I digress. After Mount Vernon, we headed to part 2 of our trip--Williamsburg. Our plan was to stop at the Yankee Candle Flagship store. As we looked up the hours and address, we were met with some very distressing news--it closed in 2021!?!?! I am super, super, SUPER sad about this. We LOVED that store: the candles, the indoor snowing, the trains, the year-round massive Christmas village display, the fun Halloween village display, the fudge, the home decor, etc. It. Was. Amazing. No trip to Williasmburg was complete for us without a stop, Until now I guess. We consoled ourselves with Cracker Barrel and then got some breakfast food for the morning. Now, we are resting in our resort--The Powhatan, which is our favorite place to stay in Williasmburg. We got the 3-story 3-bedroom condo and the kids are thrilled. After our little DC apartment, it feels especially spacious. 

White House, Memorials, American History

We had an 830 tour time for the White House, which meant an early morning. We have been taking the metro to the mall area each day, but today we took a bus. The bus stop is super close to our rental (3 minute walk) and would let us out just .4 miles from the White House. We debated taking the metro, but it would have involved a lot more walking. And, I don't know what I was squeamish about. The bus was super nice and very easy to navigate. We got to the White House around 8:10 and they let our group in promptly at 8:30. There were several security checks and I was glad we had read the instructions and did not get stopped at the gate.

The tour was very quick. It was self-guided. I had downloaded the app and listened to the narrative for each room, but most were around 30 seconds. We have only done the White House once before, and the big kids were tiny then (3 & 4 I think). And, it was Christmas time, so things looked a lot different. It was nice being there and we enjoyed the experience.

I really liked the cross hall.

After the tour, we went to the Washington Monument and after we told them about getting bumped for weather on Monday, they let us get in line. None of us had ever been inside before and the views were amazing! We enjoyed looking out all 4 sides and seeing the landmarks from a different perspective.

Views from all 4 sides. Jefferson, Lincoln, Capitol and White House. Everything looked tiny!

And, collage of obligatory silly photos (Thomas was purposefully off)

From there, we walked to the WWII Memorial and then Lincoln. Both were inspiring. 

Each star represents 100 killed in WWII. There are 4048 stars.

Then, it was back to the mall area for lunch and American History. We walked close to the Vietnam Memorial, but I could not bring myself to visit. It makes me very sad and I always cry. There is something about seeing all the carved names that just hits hard and I wasn't in the mood to be sad, although I do feel a little guilty about skipping it. There were lots of veterans everywhere, maybe because of Memorial Day?

We also saw lots of baby ducks and geese on the walk. So sweet!

We spent several hours in American History. It is probably the museum we visited most when we lived in Maryland. It was fun to revisit our favorites and see some of the new exhibits. A good time was had by all! Our favorite exhibits: Anna-trains; Jack-The Philadelphia; Luke-the Modern Technology; Thomas-the Civil War area or the Philadelphia; Kara and Kori-the First Ladies Exhibit. 

Anna liked this doll house when she was little and was happy it was still there.

Favorite part of the day:

Luke & Kori-Washington Monument

Jack, Anna, and Thomas-American History (Anna also noted that she enjoyed seeing all the handsome Secret Service agents and wondered if attractiveness is a job requirement)

Kara-the White House

Total walking: 9.4 miles.